Opera

Bill Huck

Opera Season on Records

T

he Fall Opera Season is little more than a month away. So it's time now to start preparing for the amusement ahead. The purpose of the accompanying chart is to identify the recordings that have been made of the upcoming operas.

The middle column list the currently available complete commercial recordings of each opera, singers first, then conductor and recording company. They are ranked in order of my recommendations. Since no two persons' tastes are exactly the same, I have included most of the options. Personally I prefer strongly conducted performances that deliver the drama. I have also favored the newer recordings, because of their better sound.

The third column is a brief history of each opera on records. These entries begin with out-of-print complete recordings that are nevertheless worth snapping up should you find them. The roll-call that follows lists those singers whose recorded excerpts are of particular value to the student of operatic interpretation. Happy listening!

Left to right: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in Der Rosenkavalier, Helga Dernesch Jacques Trussel and Thomas Steward, in Lear, and Renata Scotto

Operas

Adriana Lecouvreur

Un Ballo in Maschera

Billy Budd

Falstaff

Lear

Orlando

Der Rosenkavalier

Tosca

Turandot

Werther

Currently Available, Complete Recordings

Scotto, Obraztsova, Domingo, Milnes/Levine-CBS

Ricciarelli, Gruberova, Obraztsova, Domingo, Bruson

/ Abbado-DG

Callas, Di Stefano, Gobbi / Votto-Sera. Arroyo, Domingo, Cappuccilli / Muti-Angel Tebaldi, Pavarotti, Milnes / Bartoletti-Lon. Caballe, Carreras, Wixell / Davis-Phi.

Pears, Glossop, Shirley-Quirk, Langdon / BrittenLon.

Gobbi, Schwarzkopf, Moffo, Barbieri, Alva, Panerai / Karajan-Angel

Valdengo, Nelli, Stich-Randall, Elmo, Madasi, Guarrera Toscanini-RCA

Taddei, Kabaivanska, Schmidt, Ludwig, Araiza, Panerai Karajan-Phi.

Bruson, Ricciarelli, Hendricks, Valentini, Gonzalez, Nucci Giulini-DG

Fischer-Dieskau, Dernesch, Lorand, Varady /

Albrecht-DG

Steffan, Sciutti, Bogard, Greevy, Rintzler / SimonRCA, now out-of-print.

Schwarzkopf, Stich-Randall, Ludwig, Edelmann/ Karajan-Angel

Tomova-Sintov, Perry, Baltsa, Moll / Karajan-DG Crespin, Donath, Minton, Jungwirth / Solti-Lon. Jones, Fassbaender, Popp, Ridderbusch / Kleiber-LR

Callas, Di Stefano, Gobbi De Sabata-Angel Price, Di Stefano, Taddei / Karajan-Lon. Price, Domingo, Milnes / Mehta-RCA Caballe, Carreras, Wixell / Davis-Phi. Scotto, Domingo, Bruson / Levine-Angel Nilsson, Corelli, Fischer-Dieskau / Maazel-Lon. Milanov, Bjoerling, Warren / Leinsdorf-RCA Freni, Pavarotti, Milnes / Rescigno-Lon.

Sutherland, Caballe, Pavarotti / Mehta-Lon. Nilsson, Scotto, Corelli Molinari-Pradelli-Angel Nilsson, Tebaldi, Bjoerling / Leinsdorf-RCA Marton, Ricciarelli, Carreras / Maazel-CBS Ricciarelli, Hendricks, Domingo / Karajan-DG

Troyanos, Kraus, Manuguerra / Plasson-Lon. Von Stade, Carreras, Allen / Davis-Phi.

Of Special Interest

Tebaldi, Simionato, Del Monaco/Capuana-Lon., Olivero, Simionato, Corelli/Rossi-Cetra;

Muzio, Albanese, Callas, Price, Freni, Caballe, Elmo, Cossotto, Caruso, de Lucia, Pertile, Bergonzi, Pavarotti, Gobbi.

Milanov, Bjoerling, Sved/Panizza-Met, Nelli, Peerce, Merrill/Toscanini-RCA Price, Grist, Bergonzi, Merrill/Leinsdorf-RCA Caniglia, Barbieri, Gigli, Bechi/Serafin-Sera.

Destinn, Muzio, Seinemeyer, Rethberg, Nemeth,

Welitsch, Farrell, Crespin, Hempel, Tetrazzini, Kurz, Berger, Anderson, Branzell, Stignani, Caruso, Bonci, Martinelli, Battistini, Amato, Scotti, Stracciari, Ruffo, Weede, Warren, Bastianini.

Forbes Robinson:

Stabile, Tebaldi, Noni, Elmo, Valletti/De Sabata-Turn Rimini, Tassinari, Tellini/Molajoli-EMI, Evans, Simionato, Kraus/Solti-RCA, Fischer-Dieskau, Ligabue, Resnik, Panerai Bernstein-CBS

Maurel, Scotti, Stabile/Toscanini, Tibbett, Hotter, Wixell, Tagliavini, Alda, dal Monte, Freni, Pagliughi.

Horne, Leppard (Overture).

Lehamnn, Schumann, Olszewska, Mayr/Heger-Sera Strauss (film score), Hempel, Seinemeyer, Ohms, Ursuleac/Krauss, Lemnitz (as M/Leitner and as O/Kempe & Kleiber), Reining, Ludwig (M) /Bernstein, Dernesch (M), Supervia, Novotna, Hoengen, Jurinac,

Seefried, Soederstroem, von Stade, Berger, Gueden, Anders, Tauber, di Stefano, Pavarotti, List, Kipnis, Prohaska, Weber, Berry.

Olivero, Giannini, Seinemeyer, Turner, Melba,

Jeritza, Destinn, Farrar, Muzio, Welitsch,

Tebaldi/Erede, Rysanek, Vishnevskaya/Rostropovich,

Caruso, Lauri-Volpi, Gigli, Martinelli, Vinay,

Vickers, Bergonzi, Tibbett, Amato, Stracciari,

Scotti, Ruffo, London, Raimondi.

Caballe, Pavarotti, Mitchell/Chailly-HRE, Callas, Schwarzkopf, Fernandi/Serafin-EMI Cigna, Olivero, Merli/Ghione-Turn., Borkh, Tebaldi, Del Monaco/Erede-Rich. Turner, Lehmann, Nemeth, Shuard, Grob-Prandl,

Farrell, Dimitrova, Schoene, Albanese, Norena, Price, Freni, Martinelli, Borgioli, Pertile, Lauri-Volpi, Tauber, Piccaver.

Vallin, Thill/Cohen-EMI,

Del los Angeles, Gedda/Pretre-Angel, Obraztsova, Domingo/Chailly-DG

Friant, Schipa, Kozlovsky, Clement, Battistini, Smirnov, Sobinov, Crooks, di Stefano, Lehmann, Tassinari, Olivero, Callas, Simionato, Gorr, Verrett, Bacquier, Souzay.

August 1, 1985 Sentinel USA 19